King Saul disobeys God’s commands. Lizard men Philistines attack with an overwhelming space force. The planet of Bethlehem falls. It’s time that God uses someone to stand and defend the Almighty’s domain. What if the 1 Samuel story of David, Saul and Jonathan were rejiggered with an anthropomorphic, Star Wars-like feel? That’s ‘Dominion: Fall of the House of Saul.’
King Saul, the lion-like ruler of a space empire known as Dominion, is a great warrior. Attired in space battle armor and with a fleet of spacecraft at his back, there is none his equal.
Saul has been blessed by the Almighty.
Unfortunately, Saul’s power has gone to his head. He revels in his own might, his own throne and his own roaring will. (He’s also got a very thick lion’s mane, don’t you know. It gives him an incredibly kingly appearance as he roars out his orders to his anthropomorphic court.)
So even though the crow-like prophet, Samuel, had declared that God wanted Saul to defeat the Amalekites and take no prisoners, the king returned with the Amalekite ruler in chains. All the better to flaunt Saul’s complete and utter victory. Saul also added the Amalekite’s choicest weapons and spaceships to his army.
And in the blink of an eye—and the shake of a prophet’s head—a mighty king has lost God’s favor.
“You are cursed,” Samuel says. “You have spurned all chances to be an upright king, Saul,” the prophet declares as he walks away. “The Almighty has torn Dominion from you today and has given it to one better than you … a man after his own heart.”
But who will God send to defend this deep-space kingdom while king Saul growls, rebels and slashes?
Will it be Jonathan, Saul’s son? He is a heroic captain who’s willing to pilot his ship into the maws of a deadly Philistine fleet. He’s willing to risk life and limb, laser pistols blasting, to defend his home.
Or could Samuel’s use of “a man” be euphemistic? Maybe God will lay his favor upon Princess Michal, who has donned an old suit of seraphim armor to rescue refugees streaming out of Bethlehem.
Perhaps it will be someone else.
Whatever the truth is, God’s hand is moving. His people are standing. And even in the face of the Philistines’ new juggernaut—a weapon known as Goliath—someone is bound to step forward and become the upright hero that God requires.
You can feel it in the air.
Dominion doesn’t look, nor always sound, very biblical, but this graphic novel is completely reimagined from chapters 13 through 15 of 1 Samuel. That scriptural story is given a sci-fi, space opera vibe.
The book’s creator, Dr. Barron Bell, stated that, “Instead of retreading familiar tropes, I wanted to take the biblical narrative of the rise of the kingdom of Israel and set it in space using anthropomorphic characters.”
In that light, there are a number of biblical statements that are reconfigured to fit the story. For instance, in a dire moment, a priest tells Princess Michal, “The Almighty will not abandon us. There is always a remnant of righteous warriors. He will send help … He has sent us you.”
Spacecraft, advanced technology and humanoid aliens are a given here.
King Saul is arrogant and sneering. It’s plain to see that he believes he’s taking steps to preserve the kingdom of Dominion, but it’s also clear that Saul’s own glory takes precedence over all else.
Prince Jonathan, on the other hand, is a heroic individual who takes great risks to destroy a powerful Philistine asteroid weapon. He rebels against his father’s authority. But he repeatedly trusts God to follow through on His promises, and he tells others that any victory is the Lord’s victory.
Princess Michal quickly rushes in with a ship to help refugees after a small planet is decimated by the enemy. She is a brave and strong leader.
Samuel is a crow-like prophet who doesn’t sway from the words that God has given him to convey to others. Even though Saul is roaringly powerful and threatening, Samuel tells the king that not only has Saul lost God’s favor, but he is cursed.
There is no foul language or mention of drug or alcohol use.
However, there is some violence on display. An Amalekite king is killed, for instance. But we only see him zapped with a lightning-like blast. There’s no blood or mess. And the same goes for the space battles in the tale: There are fiery and icy explosions, a spacecraft and an asteroid explode and fall to charred chunks, and large warrior enemies get hit with exploding missiles. But we don’t see any bloodiness in the mix.
None.
Dominion suggests that God’s “blessing” can be given to some, but not to others. In Saul’s case, what does the story suggest makes the difference? Why did God give his blessing and why does Samuel say God took it away?
What about in our own lives? How does God bless us? How can we be obedient to Him? For that matter, how can we figure out what God wants from us?
Take a look at Psalm 119:105 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Where do those scriptures say we should look when we’re making important decisions, looking for peace during anxious times or just seeking general wisdom?
Did you like this Book of Samuel story reimagined with a sci-fi focus? What makes it easier or harder to grasp?
Dominion: Fall of the House of Saul is a compelling and colorful reimagining of scripture. And it could be used as an entry point to get sci-fi-lovers to think about the story at its core—and the fact that God’s hand is on the move in our world.
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Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
